That is Texan for “How is everyone” and it was the start of an unexpected surprise for an Austin, Texas couple on their honeymoon in Africa. We met them at the 5K race to buy formula for Neema House Arusha, our home for abandoned, orphaned and at risk babies in Africa and they told us their story.

They were in the grocery store in Arusha, Tanzania on their honeymoon when they heard someone ask in familiar Texas drawl, “How Yal’ll Doin?” It was Kelly Erdman, the director at Neema.
Most people speak Swahili in Tanzania and talking with people can be quite frustrating so when you hear your own language you sort of perk up. They struck up a conversation with Kelly and of course she invited them to come see the babies. They ended up spending five days of their honeymoon holding babies at Neema. Now how cool is that!
Actually they had planned to do some volunteer work on their honeymoon in Africa and had been to a couple of orphanages which they said were awful. When they got to Neema and someone made them take off their shoes before coming in the door and then pumped sanitizer onto their hands before they could pick up a baby, they said, “This is it.” I love telling folks if you are looking to volunteer at a dirt floor orphanage where the children are ragged and hungry, this is not it. Sometimes our babies may come to us in bad shape
but in a short time with loving care they are happy babies, like beautiful Zawadi.

An update on Bekah, our daughter, pictured below, volunteering at Neema.
The three hour surgery in Moshi to repair a compound fracture on her ankle was successful and she was able to return to Neema. After the stitches heal she will be put in a cast for six weeks. The hospital was not much to look at but she did like the doctor.

Her dad made it to Africa in time for the surgery too. This has been a scary time for all of us but God is still good all the time. Psalms 27:13

Matching Gifts. Did you know that the Boeing Company does a match for donations made by their employees to a registered nonprofit? Krissi, one of our earlier volunteers pictured below, has a friend who works with her at Boeing and he has made a gift to Neema of $600 dollars which means an actual gift of $1,200 dollars to Neema!! Yah! So be sure and check with your company, you might could double your gifts to Neema.

Sponsors updates: It is hard for me to get updated pictures of the babies out to sponsors when we are in the States. With yucky Chicken Pox covering their faces, I took very few pictures of the babies on our last trip to Neema. So I have fallen way down on sending pictures to our sponsors. Please forgive me. But you have another way of seeing your baby. The Facebook page for Neema House Arusha has an album of pictures for each baby. If you will check there you can copy and print those pictures to put on your fridge of your baby in Africa. You can even send a message to Neema House Arusha Facebook and ask if they would please post more of your baby. I’m sure they would be glad to do that.
https://www.facebook.com/neemahousearushababyhome?fref=tshttps://www.facebook.com/neemahousearushababyhome?fref=ts

New baby at Neema Our third “Gift” has come to Neema. Zawadi means The Gift and this baby is our third baby girl named Zawadi. You can check out her story on the Neema House Arusha Facebook site.

A new Neema House Arusha video has just been released on Youtube. At seventeen our Grandson, Tanner Michael White, below,
wrote an essay to get into college and it is about one of our babies dumped in a pit latrine. It is written from the possible viewpoint of the baby and is so incredible and well written that a friend of Dr. Sue’s wanted to produce it. Click on the link below or type in “Baby saved from Pit Latrine” in the Youtube search and you can view the video. It was produced by Gated Productions. Thank you Chris and all the incredible staff at Gated Productions! And Thank You Tanner! Wouldn’t it be awesome to help this one go viral!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMkFyxnhSYIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMkFyxnhSYI

Blessings,
dorris